How to Get Hired as a Corporate Jet Pilot

To get hired as a corporate jet pilot, you need a commercial certificate with a multi-engine and instrument rating at minimum, a type rating in the specific jet you will fly, and — in practice, not in the regulations — somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 hours of total time with real turbine experience in it. The law is the easy part. The hours insurance underwriters demand, and the cost of a type rating, are what actually decide whether a flight department calls you back.

This article separates the three things that get confused constantly: what the FAA requires, what Part 135 charter requires, and what the person signing the insurance check requires. Those are three different numbers, and the third one is usually the highest.

It also covers what a type rating really costs in 2025, who pays for it, and the hiring path most working business jet pilots actually took — which is rarely the one described in flight school brochures.

The Certificates and Ratings You Actually Need

Is an ATP required to fly corporate?

Not always. A conventional Part 91 corporate flight department can generally employ a pilot holding a commercial pilot certificate with the appropriate airplane category, class, instrument and aircraft type ratings. An ATP is not automatically required for ordinary Part 91 corporate operations. The precise legal qualifications depend on the aircraft, whether the flight operates under IFR, the pilot's assigned crew position and any additional operating rules, while insurers and employers may impose higher standards.

Charter is different. Under 14 CFR 135.243(a), the pilot in command of a turbojet in passenger-carrying operations must hold an airline transport pilot certificate and the appropriate type rating. Since a great many business jets earn part of their keep on a charter certificate, most flight departments simply require an ATP across the board. It keeps crew scheduling flexible.

The ATP itself means 1,500 hours total time, 500 cross-country, 100 night, 75 instrument and 250 hours of PIC, along with the ATP Certification Training Program (ATP CTP) course that 14 CFR 61.156 requires before you can sit the multi-engine written. That course runs roughly $4,000 to $6,000 as of 2025 and includes the upset prevention and recovery training that came out of the Colgan-era rulemaking.

Heads Up: A restricted ATP allows qualifying pilots to exercise ATP privileges subject to specific limitations. Under 14 CFR Section 61.167(b), a restricted ATP holder cannot act as PIC in Part 121 operations, qualifying Part 135 passenger operations, or the fractional-ownership operations specified in Section 91.1053(a)(2)(i). However, a restricted ATP is not limited exclusively to airline SIC positions and may have uses in other corporate operations when the applicable qualifications are met. An unrestricted ATP generally provides greater flexibility for advancement into business jet command positions.

We cover the hour-building question in more depth in Do You Really Need 1,500 Hours to Fly for Pay? — worth reading before you assume the number applies to every paying job.

What is a type rating, and when does the law require one?

A type rating is an endorsement on your certificate for one specific aircraft type. Think of it as a key cut for one lock: your commercial certificate opens the building, the type rating opens that one door. Under 14 CFR 61.31(a), you need one to act as PIC of any turbojet-powered airplane regardless of weight, and any airplane with a maximum takeoff weight over 12,500 pounds.

That weight line explains a quirk of business aviation hiring. A King Air 200 sits right at 12,500 pounds and needs no type rating, so it is a common first turbine job. A King Air 350 is 15,000 pounds and requires the BE-300 type rating. Meanwhile a tiny Cirrus Vision Jet needs an SF50 type rating because it burns jet fuel through a turbofan.

Some light jets carry single-pilot type ratings — the CE-525S for the Citation CJ family, the EMB-500 for the Phenom 100, the SF50. Others are two-crew only. That distinction matters for job hunting, because single-pilot jets are often flown by their owners, which means fewer hired seats.

Good to Know: Flying internationally as a copilot requires a second-in-command type rating under 14 CFR 61.55, because ICAO does not recognize the U.S. concept of an untyped SIC. Many right-seat corporate jobs include that checkride in the first year.

Flight Hours: Legal Minimums vs. What Gets You Hired

What do the Part 135 rules require?

For Part 135 IFR operations not covered by the ATP requirements in Section 135.243(a), the PIC must meet Section 135.243(c): at least a commercial certificate with the appropriate ratings, 1,200 hours total time, 500 hours cross-country, 100 hours at night and 75 hours of actual or simulated instrument time, including at least 50 hours in actual flight. Second in command under 135.245 needs only a commercial certificate and an instrument rating for IFR.

That SIC opening is the door most people walk through. A 500-hour instructor cannot be a jet captain, but a well-prepared 500-hour pilot can sometimes land a right seat in a King Air or a light jet at a charter operator willing to invest in training.

What do insurance underwriters want?

This is the number that actually governs hiring, and no regulation sets it. Aviation insurance brokers report that typical underwriter minimums for PIC of a light or midsize jet in 2025 fall around 2,500 to 3,500 hours total time, 1,000 multi-engine, and 500 hours of turbine time, with the type rating current and annual recurrent training at an approved center. Large-cabin international operators often want more.

A flight department can sometimes buy an exception for a lower-time pilot, but it costs real premium dollars. That is why a 1,600-hour ATP with no turbine time gets polite rejections while a 2,400-hour pilot with 700 hours of King Air time gets interviews.

Why It Matters: Turbine PIC time is the currency of business aviation hiring. Two pilots with identical totals are not equal if one has 800 hours of turbine command and the other has 800 hours of piston dual given. Build the first kind on purpose.

Flying411 keeps business jet listings, specifications and ownership guides in one place, so you can compare the aircraft types a flight department actually operates before you spend money on a rating.

What a Type Rating Costs

Initial, recurrent and who pays

Initial type rating courses at the major simulator training centers generally run from about $20,000 for an older light jet to $55,000 or more for a current large-cabin aircraft, based on published 2025 course pricing. Recurrent training — which the operator pays every 6 or 12 months depending on the program — is a fraction of that.

Here is the part people get wrong: most working corporate pilots never paid for their own type rating. Flight departments and charter operators buy training for the pilots they hire, often with a training contract that asks you to repay a prorated share if you leave within 12 to 24 months. Self-funding a rating is a tactic for breaking in, not the normal cost of the career.

Pro Tip: If you do self-fund, pick a type with a large operating fleet and lots of charter use rather than the jet you personally admire. A CE-525 or CE-560XL rating opens far more doors than a rating in a type with thirty airframes flying.

Keep in Mind: A type rating without recent time in type is worth less than it looks. Underwriters usually want to see 25 to 100 hours in the make and model before you command one with passengers aboard, which is why a "type rating plus 25 hours of mentor flying" package is a common add-on.

The Realistic Path to the Right Seat

Very few people go from a Cessna 172 to a Gulfstream. The common ladder looks like this:

Build to commercial and CFI, then instruct or fly something that pays — survey, pipeline patrol, traffic watch, banner, skydive operations, cargo in a piston twin. Agricultural work is another time-builder with a turbine path, covered in our guide on how to become an agricultural pilot. Somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500 hours, move into Part 135 — a Caravan, a Navajo, a King Air.

The King Air is the hinge of the whole career. It is the family station wagon of turbine aviation: no type rating required at 12,500 pounds, flown by hundreds of operators, and it generates exactly the turbine PIC time underwriters count. From there, a right seat in a light or midsize jet is a realistic next call, and the type rating comes with the job.

Regional airline time also converts well. A pilot with a few thousand hours of jet time in something like the CRJ brings a credible résumé to a corporate department — and some companies operate airliner-derived aircraft themselves, which we looked at in Is a Used CRJ-200 a Good Corporate Shuttle?

Fun Fact: Business aviation hiring runs heavily on word of mouth. Flight departments are small — two to six pilots is typical — and a hiring manager will nearly always call someone who has flown with you before posting the job publicly. Your reputation on the ramp is a credential.

Flying411 keeps light jet, midsize and large-cabin models side by side in one place, so you can compare cabin size, range and fleet count when you are deciding which type rating to chase.

How the Hiring Process Actually Runs

Expect three stages. First, a paper screen: total time, turbine time, PIC time, type ratings, clean record. Many charter operators, air carriers, fractional-ownership programs and qualifying corporate flight departments use the FAA's Pilot Records Database to review a candidate's relevant certification, training, checking, accident, incident and employment records. However, Part 111 applies differently depending on the operator, and not every private Part 91 flight department is required to review the database before hiring. Pilots should accurately disclose reportable events and be prepared to discuss their training and employment histories during the hiring process.

Second, interviews. Corporate interviews lean harder on personality than airline ones do, because you will spend long days in small hotels with the same two people and sometimes with the owner's family. Discretion, flexibility and a service mindset are evaluated as closely as your instrument scan.

Third, a simulator or flight evaluation, often in a type you do not hold. They are watching procedure, callouts and how you handle being behind the airplane — not whether you grease the landing.

Quick Tip: Bring a current passport with at least a year of validity and no visa complications. International trip capability is a hiring factor for anything midsize and up, and a passport problem can disqualify an otherwise strong candidate.

Pay, Schedule and the Trade-Offs

Compensation varies more in business aviation than at the airlines because there is no contract. As of 2025, published ranges put light jet captains roughly in the $110,000 to $160,000 band, midsize captains around $140,000 to $200,000, and large-cabin international captains above $200,000, with the top corporate chief pilot roles higher still. Copilot pay typically runs 60 to 75 percent of the captain figure in the same aircraft. Region, charter versus corporate, and whether the job includes a management title all move the number.

Contract flying is the other model: a typed, qualified freelancer paid by the day. Day rates in 2025 commonly run from around $1,000 for light jets to $2,000 or more for large-cabin international work, plus expenses. It pays well per day and includes no benefits, no guaranteed schedule and no one buying your recurrent training.

The schedule is the real trade. Many corporate pilots fly fewer than 400 hours a year, but on-call duty means you may be home for nine days and then gone for six with a day's notice. If you want to know which aircraft that life revolves around, our rundown of the best midsize business jets of the 1990s that still fly today covers a large share of the working fleet, and Small Jet Planes: Types, Costs, and Popular Models covers the entry end.

Key Takeaways

Legally, a Part 91 corporate job needs only a commercial certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings plus the correct type rating, but charter turbojet command requires an ATP under 14 CFR 135.243(a), and insurance underwriters in 2025 generally want 2,500 to 3,500 total hours with 500-plus turbine before they will cover you as PIC of a jet. Type ratings cost roughly $20,000 to $55,000 initially depending on the aircraft, yet most working pilots never pay that themselves because the employer buys it, often under a short repayment contract. The fastest practical route is commercial and CFI, then Part 135 in a Caravan or King Air to build turbine PIC time, then a right seat where the rating comes with the job. Hiring is relationship-driven and small-department personal, so your reputation and your conduct on the ramp carry weight that no logbook entry does. Plan for a career that pays well and flies relatively few hours, in exchange for an on-call calendar you do not fully control.

Choosing the Jet Before You Chase the Job

The smartest move a pilot can make early is to study the fleet rather than the job boards. Knowing which types are common in your region, which operators fly them and what a department pays to keep one flying tells you which rating is worth money and which is a vanity line on a certificate. That is the difference between spending $30,000 on a type rating that generates offers and one that generates silence. Becoming a corporate jet pilot is less about collecting ratings than about aiming your hours at the aircraft that are actually hiring.

Flying411 keeps business jet models, specs and ownership cost guides in one place, so you can compare what flight departments operate before you commit training dollars.

When you are ready to compare listings, visitFlying411 and see what is on the market today.